India's Academic Freedom Hits Lowest Level Since 1900, Editorial Warns

Experts from a project called Varieties of Democracies check how free teachers and students are to learn and share ideas in countries around the world.

Their latest report says India is doing very poorly, worse than most of the 179 countries they studied.

In fact, the report says freedom in Indian universities is now lower than it has been since the year 1900.

This freedom has been dropping quickly since around 2013.

The report looks at things like whether universities can run themselves, whether teachers can choose what to research, and whether students and teachers can speak their minds.

The newspaper article blames the central government, which has been making more rules that universities must follow.

For example, new rules say university leaders do not have to be experienced professors anymore.

Teachers now need government permission for many of their activities, and some people who disagree with the government say they are punished.

Many teachers are so worried that they censor themselves instead of expressing their ideas.

The writers warn that this is bad for learning and for democracy, because universities should be places where people can question and debate.